Day 49: August 30th, 2010 (Route: Fairfax, CA to Santa Cruz, CA)

Day 49: August 30th, 2010 (Route: Fairfax, CA to Santa Cruz, CA)

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Forecast - It's central California in August - what do you think?

Staying with the young family in Fairfax, CA was amazing! I don't think I really wanted to leave to be honest, the weather here is great everyday and the cycling community is like a plague within this small town north of San Fransisco! What a great place to grab a few days of rest...

Rolling out of there place a little later than expected I head up Bolinas Road, one of the best rides in the area that I have heard about for the last couple of days, I wanted to ride it without the BoB trailer, but getting a chance to ride it with BoB was well worth it! There was a lot of climbing, the road conditions could have been better, however it was great! I don't like getting "chicked" when riding, however there is no choice when pulling this BoB. I was cruising this morning and getting passed by lots of cyclist out on their Sunday morning ride!

Nothing like shooting up a 1,500 foot climb to wake the legs! The legs felt great today thought, and they should with 2.5 days off I was ready to rocket another 100+ miles and this climbing was perfect! I was getting passed on the climb and there were a lot guys complimenting on how strong I was and to unhitch the trailer! I even had one guy comment, "I always wondered how they got the pot out of this area? Now I know!" I thought right...

The climb was good, however a little more difficult then I wanted for the first 25 miles of the day, you take what you can get when your out on the road though. I even climbed up the Mountain (find out name later) a couple guys recommended and was able to see San Fransisco Bay and the Golden Gate in the far off distance, what a sight this was!

Descending was awefully nice after all that climbing and I was feeling really strong, however I loaded BoB a little heavy on the left side this morning and could feel him tugging to the left so I had to descend even slower than usual today. Once into San Fransisco I enjoyed all the scenery and snapped off a few photos of the bridge. Since I was running a little late now in the day since I took to many extra minutes thinking on top of the Peak and looking around I really needed to get out of the city! The weather was chilly and surreal to be honest! If I would have thought about it, I could have gotten up early and watch the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon this morning, but I slept in which I needed!

I'll have to make it back to San Fransisco some day as its beautiful with lots of culture and plenty to do I'm sure of that! I get a little claustorphobic in big cities like this though, I really enjoy my wide open spaces! Comes with being from Kansas where you have more space then people...

I did get lost in the city though, took a couple wrong turns that again delayed me from getting out of town! Finally out of the city I stop and hit up a subway as I was pretty hungry after all the climbing! I continue to ride down the coast thinking of all kinds of things, but mostly riding "mad" today! The conversation yesterday and this morning put me into a terrible mood that I just couldn't kick! I'm sure it will pass, however I'll just have to sit in the emotions today, riding mad isn't allowing me to enjoy the day!

Out onto the highway now and the fog has burnt off a little allowing me to see the coast which is nice! Again - still thinking about the conversation I continue to ride a little upset/mad which is good, however I would rather be riding relaxed mentally today! Talk about not getting into the moment, however I'm sure we all have those days...

Riding down the coast and enjoying the tail wind I start to calculate distance and time, as the sun doesn't appear its going to give me much to work with if I don't get a move on! Way too many stops today and the locals haven't been correct on the mileage from point to point so I'm working with lots more miles today then expected, however I told myself Santa Cruz before night fall so Santa Cruz it will be, sunshine or not!

I continue to push down the highway, talking to myself about riding and to just keep pedaling! Riding away from the sunset I have to stay on the throttle as I have no chance of making it into Santa Cruz before the sun goes down. The good thing was I got to enjoy another sunset!

Once into to Santa Cruz I hit up a grocery, Safeways are so nice with their 50-70% off rack! After picking up some groceries I ask directions to the Brighton Beach State Park and it appears no one knows where this is. Talking with four people the fourth finally pulls out a map and helps me out! Six miles away, I think great - six miles of night traffic with little light - I kept thinking I need to quit riding so long and make sure I'm in camp before dark. I wasn't really thinking much for safety today as I was pretty pissed off still from the conversation - I tried so hard to shake this however I needed something to shake the thoughts! Didn't work at all today - no phone calls either! I finally roll into camp and set up things!

When I rolled into a camp a sweet retired military lady chatted with me, she even gave me 4 quarters for the shower and some protein bars. She was so impressed with my story she felt obligated to help me out I think. She asked if I was military since I kept saying "Yes Maam" and I had to reply no, you forget I was born and raised in Kansas! She laughed and smiled...

The night was quiet except for the three/four raccoons that kept trying to find some food throughout the night. My bag must have smelled like something as they wouldn't leave me alone at all! I did forget to put things in the food boxes, I did in the middle of the night, then finally just put my bag in the shower across the street so I could get some sleep!